The Photo
by AlkaFeldspar-Nephrite
Summary: He feels the sudden urge to put his hand to his face. "Seriously? You dragged me all the way here for this?" he asks, grumbling. A photo. She wanted them to have a group photo. In the middle of the night. Of course she did.


**AN: Honestly, this is pretty much just me letting my feels out. Major spoilers for Book 3 and Ravenloss Saga part 2. Not my best work but... well, it helped me get stuff off my chest. Enjoy.**

Normally, Tomix could boast of infinite patience when dealing with eccentrics but even he had to draw the line somewhere. That line was set outside his door, operational at times between midnight and sunrise. Whosoever was foolish enough to cross said line would suffer pain, torture and death glares for all eternity and beyond. That line was currently being danced on by the way-too-cheerful Cryptic banging at his door with enough force to rip off its hinges. And of course, it just had to be _that_ Cryptic, one of the few people who he knew would be able to face whatever he threw at, if only because they were both skilled and stupid enough to be unaffected by such penalties. That and the fact that he knew, from experience, that she'd be able to get him back just as hard. With a muttered curse, he pulls himself out of bed. Even half-asleep, he can hear the smile in her voice as she called for him, her voice loud enough to ring throughout the ship. Grunting, he pulls himself onto his feet and opens the door. As he predicted, she's standing there, a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes. Rayi, the only person considered both his best friend and his greatest nightmare.

That happiness of hers could, on the best of occasions, be considered endearing but now, it was seriously irritating.

Before he can react, however, she grabs him by the arm, her grip vice-like, and practically flies through the corridors, dragging him along even as he tried to wrest his arm from her grip.

He struggles but her grip is strong and after a few fruitless seconds, he asks, his voice weary: "What are you up to this time?"

She giggles. Freaking _giggles._ Honestly, sometimes, he wants to strangle the happy out of her. "Wait and see!" she calls out, still gliding as she navigated their way through the Void Ship's many rooms. He has to admit, he's a bit impressed at how quickly she memorized the layout of the place. She's still smiling when they finally reach their destination, the main mast. He can see the whole crew crowding around it, eyes expectant. Eirn stands at the back, fiddling with a metal contraption he thinks he might be able to name.

A... camera, was it?

He feels the sudden urge to put his hand to his face. "Seriously? You dragged me all the way here for this?" he asks, grumbling. A photo. She wanted them to have a group photo. In the middle of the night.

Of course, she did.

She pouts, hands on hips. "Oh come on Tomix! It'll be fun!" she whines. Despite this, he can see amusement sparkling in her eyes. She seriously needed to stop being happy.

Mazurek, unexpectedly, steps forward, a smile on her own face. "Aye. The lass be right," she nods. He has to wonder what the Hero had bribed her with to get her to agree with this. "This be a rare opportunity, y'know."

He faces the Hero, a trace of what might be despair in his eyes. "What brought this on?" he asks, eyebrows raised.

She smiles benevolently in return. "Well, Eirn showed me this... camera of his and said that you could take really good pictures with it. So I thought that it'd be nice if we all, you know, got together and have our pictures taken! For the memories!"

"...memories? What, the Void has a lot of good memories in store for you?" He had always known the Hero to be a touch eccentric but he never thought that she'd have a liking for the Void, of all things. They had only just started the trip, after all, so they hadn't exactly had any fantastic adventures yet, bar a few supply runs that were anything _b__ut _fantastic.

"No, silly!" she laughs. "Memories of everyone being together as a crew! We won't always be together, you know, so it'd be nice to have something to remember everyone by."

He hears Vaal mutter from the back of the crowd: "Hmph. I don't want to remember any of you." and another retort: "Shut up Vaal. We don't care."

Stifling a yawn, he looks around. Maybe other people were against this...? Of course not. Aside from possibly Vaal, but he has his limits and wouldn't want to have to side with _him_ of all people. He sighs. Oh well. Pointless as this was, this really shouldn't take too long. If they finished quickly, he could still catch another few hours of sleep. "Whatever then... let's just get this over with."

Rayi's smile, if possible, grew even wider. She pokes his cheek, still grinning. "Aww... smile Tomix!" she exclaims, eyes still bright. "This'll only take a second. Eirn!"

The gnome nods and runs to the front of the crew, the camera ready on its tripod. "Ready!" he calls before running to the crew. The camera blinks red. "One... two... three... smile!"

The flash blinds them all for a second but when it's done, Eirn's already at the camera, surveying the finished photo, a satisfied look in his eyes.

"Hmm... nice shot!" he says approvingly before showing everyone the picture. Everyone seemed pretty happy with it but Rayi, of course, looked unsatisfied. She pokes Tomix's cheek again before asking:

"Tomix, why aren't you smiling?"

Of course she'd notice. "I was smiling. See?" he points to his face, wearing a vague semblance of a smile. Honestly, it was way too late in the evening for this. He just wanted to get back to bed. Hopefully, sometime within the next few minutes.

She almost pouts. "...that's not a smile. That's not even a half-smile. Come on, again..."

He gives her a look. "...seriously?" he has to ask. Avatars, sometimes he wondered if she lived off of an everlasting supply of happy pills and coffee.

"Yes!" she says firmly. "Eirn!"

The gnome was already at the camera. "On it!"

"Tomix, smiling isn't that hard! Come on!" Izaac pipes up. Tomix can see his head poking out from the back of the crowd, his fair hair a beacon in the dark.

He glares at him. "It is to me, Izaac," he growls.

Of course, no one was overly impressed. Everyone present was fighter, after all. He hears Riadne giggle. "Hehehe... same old Tomix."

He almost flushes at the remark. She was still so pretty... "Riadne... hey! Ow!"

Rayi, having grown tired of his not-smiles, had taken matters into her own hands. That is, she had gotten behind him and stretched his cheeks into what could be, if one was generous, considered a smile. "I told you I'd get you to smile!" she says, a smile on her own face. Most of the crew laughs.

"You don't have to pinch so hard! You're hurting my cheeks!" he protests, though the way his voice had slurred from her pinching his cheeks had, if anything, only increased the crew's amusement. He can't help himself. He blushes.

"Hmph. The look suits you," Vaal remarks, sniggering. If he squints, he can see Vaal's messy hair at the very back of the group.

"Sarcasm isn't appreciated, Vaal," he glares, his voice still slurred.

"Says you." he retorts.

Rayi, still holding his cheeks, rolls her eyes. He can tell she's getting tired of holding his cheeks. "Okay, how about this, I'll let you go and you'll smile. Really smile, I mean." she offers. He nods and she lets go of his cheeks. She allows him a few seconds of cheek-rubbing before asking: "That good?" as she poked him in the ribs.

"Yeah, yeah - Ow! Don't poke!" he protests.

"But it's fun!" she exclaims. She's smiling again, poking him gently in the ribs while the rest of the crew watched on. He can't help it really. He, very reluctantly, smiles. And this time, it passes muster.

"See! I knew I could get that smile out of you!" the Hero squeals, delighted. Some people in the crew chuckle.

Eirn runs back to the crew. The camera is blinking again. "SMILE!" he calls, just before the flash blinds them again.

At his side, while still somewhat blinded by the flash, he hears Rayi whisper in his ear. "'Sides... Tomix, even if the crew's all separated, you should know that we'll always have your back. The photo... I hope it'll help you remember that, whatever happens, you have friends."

He's silent.

"Even when we're apart, we'll always be friends." she continues under her breath. The flash has faded from his eyes and he can see her smiling again, her eyes warm.

"...always?" he whispers. The crew's chatter has faded into the background. He remembers the days when she was frozen, when he continued his quests half expecting to hear voice or see her smile. The days he needed her the most, when Aspar's the betrayal was still fresh. The days when he thought she might never come back.

Her eyes are bright "Always." she repeats, the smile on her face bright enough to light the sun.

He remembers the days when he thought he'd never see that kind of smile again. Wishes that she'd never lose that smile.

He smiles back and this time, he means it.

... weeks later ...

Rayi stands alone, bathed by the rays of the setting sun. Her ever-present Cryptic armor is nowhere to be seen. She's dressed as a Soulweaver today, with Spirit-Looms replacing her usual daggers, the Soul Claws inactive. She has none of her equipment, no cape or helm, and her hair hung loosely around her shoulders.

For once, she's not smiling.

She holds a photo close to her chest.

_We'll always be friends._

_...always?_

_Always._

"Always, right?" she echoes, tears running down her face.

She almost expects to hear an answer but the gravestone is silent and will always be silent. Always.

"Always." she repeats.

She can't help it and she makes no attempt to stop it. She sobs.  
-

**I'm not all that good with writing groups of people now, am I? *slumps* I blame my broken feels.**

**Seriously, that epilogue? Crushed me and left me a hollow mess on the floor. God, they really ripped the feels out of me there. In case anyone's wondering, Rayi has absolutely no romantic interest in him whatsoever. She considers him one of her absolute best friends and respects his fighting skills. Tomix, on the other hand, deeply, if secretly, admired the way she faced life. It's possible that he had a bit of an admiration- crush on her (so no real chance for a relationship beyond platonic. They're happy as friends).**

**Note, he knows he'll hit back just as hard because he still remembers the Trithril she made him carry after the catapult thing. And Eirn's camera is one of them automatic print ones.**

**Reviews'd be appreciated.**

**(P.S.: Someday, I'm going to rewrite and repost Breaking Expectations on this account. Hehe...sorry, school's been mean and I was stupid enough to forget both the password and the email to my original account)**


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